Investor Midday: Techs sustain rally

Technology stocks continued to rally at midday Thursday as strong earnings from Ciena boosted the sector. The Nasdaq rose 22.20 points to 2,188.64.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 54.34 points to 11,270.26.

In economic news, one report showed a stronger job market than Wall Street had expected. Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said. New claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 380,000 last week from a revised 388,000 the prior week. The number of new claims has dropped for two straight weeks after hitting its highest level in five years. Full story. --Tiffany Kary, ZD Inter@ctive Investor